Mission: Pakistan

Starting in August, torrential rains kicked off the 2010 monsoon season in Northern Pakistan. With record rain fall, rivers quickly swelled and began flooding towns and villages throughout the region. Unfortunately, this was only the beginning of a large scale, slow moving disaster of epic proportion. As the rains continued, the water moved south due to Pakistan’s topography. At its peak, roughly one-fifth of Pakistan’s land area was covered with water and over 20 million people were displaced from their homes.

Team Rubicon began assessing the disaster from the beginning. TR did not initially deploy because of the low number of traumatic injuries caused by the flood. However, Dr Eduardo Dolhun, an expert on Oral Rehydration Therapy, saw an emergent need for oral rehydration solution (ORS) to combat cholera, dehydration and diarrhea. Dr. Dolhun, who has pioneered an advanced ORS called Drip Drop, offered to donate 8,000 units if Team Rubicon would provide the medical, logistical, and security support for a Pakistan operation.

Utilizing TR’s network of resources and contacts, the team started developing a plan and evaluating risk. After the first two weeks of the disaster, and many conflicting reports about the current situation on the ground, the following concerns were evident:

• Poor Security. On August 27th, the Taliban issued a threat that foreign aid workers were a target for Taliban fighters.
• Lack of coordination between the Pakistani government, the Pakistani Army, and NGO’s operating in Pakistan.
• The need for a trusted local partner/liaison who had access to the most affected regions, where aid had not yet arrived.

The state of security in Pakistan underscored the need for vetted sources. After securing visas from the Pakistan Embassy in Washington DC, and assessing invitations from multiple Pakistani NGOs, Team Rubicon decided that they would partner with Dr. Yasmin Rashid and the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA).

On August 28th TR deployed a two-man advance team to conduct a pre-deployment site survey of the southern Punjab region. On arrival the team met with the PMA, secured transportation and lodging, and identified safe routes of travel for the arriving team. Once the main body arrived three days later, TR set out to flood affected areas near the town of Muzzafargarh. Along with a well-trained and motivated group of Pakistani doctors, TR was able to set up daily clinics and treat more than 1,000 people per day. Some of the significant accomplishments achieved by Team Rubicon include:

• Treated and assessed over 3,500 patients, providing life saving interventions in some cases.
• Established relations with trusted sources in Pakistan, paving the way for future operations and assistance
• Worked together with CNN to increase world awareness of Pakistan’s current situation as well as demonstrate TR’s capabilities.
• Acted as good will ambassadors for the U.S. TR was the first group of Americans some of our Pakistani friends had ever met.
• Exercised the TR response system and refined SOP’s

Ultimately, the situation in Pakistan was unique. For obvious reasons, many NGOs were weary of responding to the dire situation as it unfolded; the security situation posed serious problems to aid workers and caused many well-meaning Americans to keep their wallets closed. However, Team Rubicon felt that it could effectively operate because of its veterans’ vast experience working in similarly uncertain environments. TR’s presence in these afflicted areas changed many locals’ opinions of Americans; a benefit that cannot be quantified but should not be overlooked. In closing, while this mission was not a traditional ‘react’ operation, TR still found a niche that needed to be filled, and filled it effectively.

William McNulty, VP, Pakistan Team Leader
Jake Wood, President
Matt Pelak, East Coast Regional Coordinator

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Filed under: After Action Report, News, Pakistan, Thank You, Uncategorized by teamrubicon
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